Gems of Our Past
by Obsydien
Summary: An old friend of the Crystal Gems returns to Beach City, but will his arrival bring about all good news?
1. Chapter 1

Excited chattering filled the air of the Beach City pier. Happy screams of children mingled with the conversational voices of teenagers and adults. One such child was bounding along, just as jovial as the rest. His curly black hair swayed in the breeze as he skipped about the boardwalk. In one hand was a ukulele and in the other was a small bag fat with various snacks.

"Wonderful day! Oh wonderful day! It's a wonderful day for snacks!" Steven sang in his high, fairly melodious voice. "Hi Peedee!" He lifted the hand with the snacks to signify a wave to the blond. Peedee responded with a wave of his own and a smile before his attention turned to a pair of customers coming up to the window.

As the pudgy boy made his way back towards the beach and the large temple that resided on the edge, a large, scruffy, grey wolfhound made its way towards him. Steven lifted his eyebrows in curiosity as the dog ran in a single circle around him then sat before him. He carefully reached a hand out to pet the creature's head, smile bright as the dog allowed him to touch it.

"You seem like a sweet dog. Oh! D'you wanna come home with me? I bet Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl and Lion would love to meet you!" Steven began to run towards the temple. "Come on!"

It wasn't long before he spotted the dog running along side him. The boy laughed the whole way to the temple. Or more specifically, to the little wooden house crafted onto the side of the house. Steven bounded up the stairs and opened the door, stepping in after the dog had meandered inside. He dropped the sack of snacks on a small table nearby and set his ukulele on the couch. When he turned, he saw that the dog had flopped onto its back. He was finally able to see that the dog was male.

"Are you hungry boy? I could get you something to eat." Steven hardly waited for an answer before he was cantering over to his refridgerator.

The dog rolled over onto his stomach and yawned audibly, though perked as he saw the teleporter beginning to glow. Bright black hues widened as three figures materialized into view. One was tall, one short, and one incredibly skinny. As they stepped from the platform, it was evident that there had been a conversation going on.

"...sn't mean that I wanted to-" Amethyst's voice was cut off as her eyes fell on the large dog, whose tail was wagging back and forth at a quick pace. "Hey. Whose dog is that?"

Steven jogged from the fridge, lips still pulled into a wide smile. "That's a dog I found! He's really sweet. I was just about to give him a snack."

Pearl crossed her arms and frowned just a bit, obviously unsettled by the dog's rather disheaveled appearance. "Steven... I don't think it's very safe to keep bringing various animals back here." She watched as the dog pushed into a stand.

"But, look at how well Lion turned out." Steven retorted, referring to the large, pink lion that was undoubtedly napping lazily in his bed.

Garnet simply watched as Amethyst ran over and began scratching at the dog's head. She looked to Steven then to Pearl and back to Amethyst before uttering just a few words in a calm, British accented voice. "That's not a dog."

The other three gems looked to Garnet, confusion obvious behind their eyes. Amethyst was the first to speak up.

"Whatdya mean it's not a dog? It looks like a dog. It feels like a dog. And it walks like a dog. It's gotta be a dog!"

"You'd think that wouldn't you Amethyst?"

The short, purple woman yipped and jumped back upon realizing that the voice belonged to the dog.

"What kinda jacked up dog did you find Steven?" Her eyes darted over to the boy, who simply shrugged and marveled at the talking canine.

The dog chuckled and looked between the four before a faint, dark glow appeared on the backs of his forelegs. A bright, white light encased the dog's body and in mere seconds a man stood in its place. His skin was a faded black. His hair, which was the same shade of grey as they dog's fur, was shaggy. Beneath his lip was a fairly well kempt soul patch. His monochromed clothing consisted of a pair of deep grey slacks, black dress shoes, a white shirt and a rather tattered, hooded black cloak. Beneath the cloak and through a torn hole in his shirt, was a dark, smooth gem, which glowed faintly in the light. He was a slender, yet muscularly defined man who stood a few inches above Garnet. He smiled to the four gems, teeth a bright contrast to his skin.

"Isn't anybody gonna say hello?" He inquired.

Amethyst was the first to break the short silence. She laughed heartily and lunged at the taller man, stubby arms locking around his midsection. "Obsidian! Man it's been forever!"

Obsidian laughed along with her, returning the embrace. "Hasn't it?" A slight smirk graced his lips as he hefted the woman over his shoulder with relative ease. He ignored her playful flailing and stepped over to Garnet. The two stared at each other for a long while before Garnet finally let a smile grace her lips. She extended a hand, which Obsidian took without hesitation. "Glad to see you've been keeping yourself well, Garnet."

As they shook, Garnet nodded and responded with a cool, "Likewise."

Once they parted hands, Obsidian turned and grunted quietly, tossing Amethyst carefully onto the nearby sofa. "Boom! Two points!"

The violet gem laughed as she bounced twice on the soft cushions.

The dark gem smiled and turned once more to come face to face with the last of the adult gems. He extended a hand, which Pearl took rather slowly. Obsidian took a step forward and lifted her hand, planting a soft kiss on the back of it.

"Pearl. Still looking as graceful as ever, no?"

Pearl's cheeks gained a very soft bluish tint and her gaze averted, trying to make it seem like she was nonchalant. She took a step forward herself and wrapped her arms around him, something Obsidian was more than happy to reciprocate.

"One must always look their best whenever they can, right?" She replied.

He only responded with a quiet "Hmm" and soon pulled away enough to turn his attention to Steven, who had made his way towards him. Obsidian's arms lingered around Pearl just a bit longer before moving away entirely to allow him to kneel down to face the boy. He observed him for a moment or two then beamed and extended a hand.

"I heard Amethyst call you 'Steven'. Steven as in 'Rose Quartz's kid' Steven, right?" His tone was friendly and inquisitive.

Steven's eyes shone as he took the dark gem's hand. "You knew my mom?"

Obsidian nodded. "Oh yeah. She was a real sweet lady. A true joy to be around." He chuckled softly and ended it with a sigh. "Looks like she did good with you."

The boy beamed. "My dad helped too! Oh and look!" He lifted his shirt enough to show Obsidian the quartz gem in his belly button. "I got my mom's gem."

Dark eyebrows raised. "I see. Have you figured out how to control it yet?" His voice was laced with curiosity.

Steven lowered his shirt and shook his head, sighing quietly. "Not yet. It seems like my powers want to activate whenever they feel like it."

Obsidian nodded understandingly. "When a gem is young, it's a bit hard to control your powers at first. You'll eventually get the hang of it. Any idea what your weapon is?"

"Right now, I know it's a shield. I was only really able to summon it once, and even then I have no idea how that happened."

The dark gem nodded once again and placed a finger to his chin in thought. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Amethyst, who had flopped to lie upside down on the couch.

"So, Obsidian. What brings you here to Beach City? It's pretty weird that you'd just want to show up out of nowhere without some kind of contact or something."

Obsidian looked over to Amethyst and stood, stepping over to plop down next to her. He crossed his feet at the ankles and shrugged, hands waving languidly. "I just felt it's been too long since I've seen my old friends, that's all." He smirked and reached over, poking Amethyst in the side. A hearty laugh filled the air as he watched her squeak and squirm.

"Oh ho! It's gonna be like that, huh?!" Amethyst rolled onto all fours on the couch and lunged at Obsidian, knocking him onto his side.

Obsidian yelped and quickly pushed up, arms locked around Amethyst's stocky frame. Steven watched from the sidelines, cheering as the two older gems playfully began a mock wrestling match. Garnet crossed her arms and took a seat nearby, rather amused by the other's antics. Pearl, however, winced upon seeing Obsidian slam and pin Amethyst or vice versa.

"Ohh... Be careful you two. Don't mess up Steven's room too badly."

She was rewarded with distracted "yeah yeah yeah"s and "okay"s from the wrestling pair. Pearl sighed and took a seat near Garnet, gradually growing to enjoy watching her friends playing around.

* * *

Wind swept in gentle breezes through the night sky, causing the waves to roll gently on the ocean. A lone figure was seated atop the head of the crystal temple. Obsidian's cloak swayed lightly in the breeze. His brows were knit together and his eyes were faded in thought. He didn't even notice the silent foot steps of the woman approaching him. Only when she sat beside him did his senses prickle and cause him to look up.

"Oh, Garnet. What is it?"

Garnet remained silent for a while, looking as pensive and serious as ever. After a while, she finally spoke, though she didn't look to Obsidian.

"You didn't come here just to see Amethyst, Pearl and I, did you?"

Obsidian frowned and looked forward, muscles tensing slightly. He hesitated to answer for a few moments, but he knew that withholding any information from Garnet was pointless.

"No. I didn't." He looked up to the full moon. "You already know the main reason I'm here, don't you?" Garnet simply stared ahead, prompting him to continue. "It's been 157 years. The time is coming. _They_ are coming."

A soft sigh fell from her lips. "I know..."

Obsidian went quiet, leaving silence in the air as he and Garnet sat, simply letting the night time wind and unspoken words flow between them. They would have to tell Pearl and Amethyst. And for the first time ever, they wouldn't have Rose Quartz at their side.


	2. Chapter 2

"_What_?! It's seriously been _that _long already?" Amethyst's visible eye was wide with anxiety as it darted back and forth between her three comrades.

With Steven having gone to bed hours ago, the older Gems were able to talk freely without the boy inquiring various things. They all felt that now wasn't the right time for a boy Steven's age to be involved in such a growing conundrum.

Obsidian nodded and reclined back into the large large armchair in the library of the crystal temple. The only light that filled the cavernous room was the soft glow that the fire place cast on the faces of the four seated in front of it. His dark fingers traced languid circles on Pearl's forearm as the slender gem further leaned back into his hold. He could feel how tense she was, and he couldn't really blame her. He couldn't blame any of them.

"Yeah it has, and I'm worried that in the upcoming months, we're all going to have to keep an even closer eye on humanity."

Garnet regarded each of them through her shades. "We've also got to be prepared for any surprise attacks," she crossed her arms over her chest, "and we can't slack on our training. If anything, we have to push ourselves even harder than we do now."

Obsidian lowered his eyes, Pearl merely sighed and Amethyst released an audible groan, but otherwise didn't object.

The groan caused Pearl to look over with something of a furrowed brow. Pushing up from Obsidian a bit, she spoke, "Amethyst, you do realize that... that without Rose Quartz with us, we're understandably going to have to strengthen our abilities to make up for that, right?"

Amethyst scoffed then lidded her eyes before grumbling and finally giving a defeated huff. "I know, I know... It's just... What're we gonna do about Steven? He's gonna find out sooner or later and if he finds out later, he could end up getting seriously hurt or something."

Pearl opened her mouth to say something, only to quickly close it and sink back into Obsidian. Her bright blue hues turned to Garnet. The dark skinned woman pushed into a stand and began to walk towards the platform marking the entryway to the library. As she walked, she said, "We will tell Steven, but now isn't the time. Trust me." With that, she stood on the platform and disappeared as a pillar of brilliant whiteblue light enveloped her body.

Amethyst frowned and jumped up from her own chair, legs carrying her back and forth in a mildly agitated pace.

"Aaaagh, I can't believe it's been so long already. How're we gonna do this without Rose? How're we gonna tell this to Steven? What are we even gonna do about Steven once he knows? I know he's an innovative kid, but... There's no way he would be able to handle this."

Pearl shrank back into the taller Gem, eyes falling to the ground. For once, she actually agreed with the shorter woman. She knew that Steven could usually find his way out of trouble with or without their help, but this... This could be too much even for the older Gems. She toyed with a lock of her hair then lifted her gaze to fall on Amethyst.

"I really don't know. I know Garnet said to trust her but, I'm worried about Steven as well."

Amethyst rubbed vigorously at her snow white tresses before shaking them out and groaning loudly.

"I hate not knowing how to handle things! And I _really_ hate not being able to handle them the way I want!" She turned on heel, brows furrowed and lips quivering. "I'm going to sleep."

"Amethyst...!" Pearl attempted to get her attention, but the purple Gem was already being swallowed by the same light that Garnet had disappeared into earlier. She pressed her fingers to her temples and rubbed slowly, eyes turning over when she felt Obsidian's chin resting on her shoulder. She offered a weary smile. "You were unusually quiet."

Obsidian shrugged and returned the smile with a soft one of his own.

"You all know Steven far better than I do. I wouldn't want to come in with an opinion that could cause some kind of rift," he shifted his position just a bit, "and besides, you'll all know what to do with Steven when the time is right. Believe in Garnet, yourselves and Steven." He traced his hand over until his fingers were laced with her own. "I'm gonna be right there with you all."

Pearl shifted her position until she was seated sideways in his lap. Her fingers were still laced with his own. Her smile was more confident now.

"You're right. I shouldn't let myself get so worked up over this. I suppose that Garnet wants us to continue life as normal for the most part, save for the more intense training, until she feels the time to tell Steven is right."

She glanced up to the taller man, whose eyes were warm and friendly. He pressed the tip of his nose to hers and nuzzled gently.

"That sounds about right. First thing in the morning, how about you and I train together, for old times' sake?"

Pearl giggled and reached up to brush at his shaggy bangs.

"Are you sure? I remember last time there was a very unfortunate haircut involved."

Obsidian's cheeks flushed a dark shade of purple as a memory from centuries back resurfaced. He shook his head and scoffed, eyes rolling.

"Hmph... Amethyst wouldn't shut up for weeks about it and I swear I heard _Garnet_ stifle a chuckle or two."

He turned his attention to the pale woman and laughed quietly. "Doesn't mean I wouldn't love to try again though. I refuse to let you that close to my head again." His lips pulled into a playful smirk before dissolving back into a warm smile. He held the shorter Gem closer. "I missed you, Pearl. I missed all of you."

Pearl tucked her head under his chin, eyes falling closed as his warmth encased her body. Her fingers lifted to stroke at the patch of hair gracing his chin. Quiet chuckles filled the near silent room.

"We've missed you too," she paused for a moment as she pulled away to instead straddle his lap, "I've missed you." She leaned against him, arms locking around his shoulders in a tight embrace.

The taller Gem's cheeks once again flared as his arms reacted automatically. They wrapped themselves around Pearl's waist and held her body against his own. He closed his eyes and reveled in the silence and having Pearl so close.

After what seemed like hours of the two simply holding each other, discussing the upcoming disasters and eventually laughing over shared stories of the past, Pearl wriggled away from Obsidian and lifted gracefully into a stand. She stepped over to snuff out the fire then sighed contently as she turned back to face the darker gem. She offered out a pale hand, which he stood and took without hesitation.

"Come on. We both may as well rest up. We've all got a lot to do, most likely starting when Garnet has noticed that Steven has woken up."

Obsidian nodded and laced his fingers with Pearl's, walking alongside her as they both stepped onto the platform portal. His dark eyes scanned over the library one last time before the blinding light of the portal enveloped them both.


	3. Chapter 3

_O-Obsidian!_

The sound of running water filled the lavish room.

_Pearl..._

Dark eyes slowly made themselves visible from behind slowly opening lids. Blurred visions gradually cleared to reveal that they were crystal clear fountains of water forming seemingly from nowhere.

_Always..._

A quiet groan escaped dark lips. Obsidian rolled on his side, or rather, he attempted to. His eyes flickered down to fall on orange tresses and pale skin. A soft smile and hooded, light blue hues. Immediately, images of the previous hours flooded his mind. It made his cheeks flush and his lips pull into a lazy smile.

"Good morning~ It's nice to see you're awake." Pearl's voice was melodic.

Obsidian rubbed at his eyes and stretched. After a brief yawn, he wrapped his arms around the woman rested on his torso. Amethyst was right. Though they didn't need it, sleep felt really good.

"Mornin'~ How long've you been up Pearl?" His voice was still slightly sluggish, but that didn't stop his hands from tracing up along the smooth skin of her back.

The sensation sent pleasant shivers through Pearl's spine. Her fingers curled on his chest as a soft hum reverberated into his ears.

"Quite a while now. I took some time to reorganize my weaponry while you slept."

"And you did this... Without your clothes on?"

Pearl's cheeks burned with a light blue tinge. "Err well... What with the privacy of this being my room and all."

Obsidian smirked and playfully rolled to pin Pearl beneath him. The surprised squeak was music to his ears. He laced his fingers with hers, smirk fading into a bright smile when he felt slender legs curl themselves around his waist.

"I'm not complaining. Hey! Do you still have that complex, ballerina styled dance to summon them?" Obsidian's tone was playful as he lowered himself to plant kisses along her neck.

Pearl rolled her head to the side, a soft laugh following the action. She responded, "It's hardly all that complex. One just has to allow their body to flow as freely as water."

The darker Gem laughed and pulled away, allowing Pearl to finally sit up. He pushed up on his elbows and watched as the dainty Gem treaded lightly along the rippling surface of water on which her bed rested. His brows lifted with amusement as she lifted her arms above her head and quickly sank below the water's surface. He raised into a sit as Pearl soon re-emerged in the center of the largest fountain, clothing just as crisp as the night before. She sighed contently and turned her attention to Obsidian. She offered a smile and motioned for him to join her.

Within moments, the masculine Gem had disappeared beneath the water and resurfaced next to her, clothing in place. He rubbed at his chest and chuckled.

"Still amuses me how no one gets wet doing that."

The feminine Gem took his hand in hers and giggled as they both once again disappeared beneath the water and resurfaced in a calm pool of water leading to the door.

When the door opened, the pair was instantly set upon by Steven.

"Pearl! Obsidian! You're finally awake. Man, I'm surprised Pearl. Amethyst is _never _awake before you are!"

The trio glanced over to see Amethyst rifling through a bag of corn chips. Her demeanor implied that the seriousness of the previous night had dissipated. Or that she was just hiding it really well. The purple Gem glanced over to them in return and smirked. Tossing the chip bag to the side, she jumped up into a stand and slinked over to Pearl and Obsidian.

"Ohh the big guy here was probably keeping her up all night with all kinds of vigorous activities~"

Pearl's cheeks exploded bright blue. "Amethyst!"

Steven's brows lifted and he gasped, mind immediately going to fighting. "Like cool new training and coming up with sword moves and stuff like that?!"

Obsidian rubbed at the back of his head and shrugged, a cool smile spreading across his lips. "Sure. Training got pretty intense." He stole a glance to Pearl, who's blush had only deepened.

Amethyst's smirk deepened and she shapeshifted into a fluffy white cat before effortlessly climbing Obsidian, the taller Gem not seeming to mind. She leaned down to murmur into Pearl's ear, knowing it would get a rise out of the prim woman. "Training meaning seeexxx~"

"Amethyst, please!" Pearl tensed and quickly shot a hand up, knocking Amethyst from her perch. The shorter woman only laughed as she landed on her paws and scampered back to her chip bag.

Obsidian snickered and looked down when he felt a poke to his hip. "Hm? Oh, what up Steven?"

Steven observed the taller man before finally asking, "I've been wondering this since yesterday. What's your Gem weapon?"

The dark Gem smiled and knelt so that he was fairly eye to eye with the boy. "Let me show you. Take a few steps back." Steven quickly obliged as Obsidian rubbed his hands together. His brows furrowed and a bright glow surrounded the gem between his shoulder blades. His cloak rippled in the etheral breeze and soon his hand shot back to tug at the weapon forming from his gem. He whipped his arm around and soon brought his other hand up to grip the black shaft of the weapon. Pushing into a stand, Obsidian smiled down to Steven as he held out his weapon, which appeared to be a double headed scythe. Each blade faced a different direction and glowed with the light of volcano lava. The design on each blade was different as well. One was inscribed with jagged edges that seemed more for ripping and rending flesh and the other had smoother edges that seemed more for cutting or stability. Dark eyes turned down to meet Steven's. "While this weapon appears this way, I use it more often than not as hand scythes." He gripped the middle of the shaft and bent his wrists, soon breaking the large scythe into two smaller ones.

Steven's eyes were wide and full of excitement. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet as Obsidian casually twirled the blades in his hands. Pearl, who had stepped away long ago, warned him to be careful. Amethyst yawned and chuckled, having returned to her humanoid form. Steven stepped closer when Obsidian finally stilled his scythes and marveled at them.

"These are so cool! How'd you get the blades to look like that? Did they come that way?" He glanced up to the older Gem.

Obsidian tapped one to his chin. "The weapon's been like this ever since I first summoned it."

Steven beamed and then laughed as Obsidian allowed his scythes to disappear. As the taller Gem stepped over to flop into a sit next to Amethyst, he meandered over to sit against Lion. The large, pink feline gave the boy a blank stare before returning to his lazing. At the sound of a sharp "Heeey!", Steven glanced over to see that Obsidian had taken Amethyst's chips. He was using one hand to hold her off and the other to dig into the bag.

"Hey Amethyst, when did Garnet say she was gonna be back? She said we were gonna go into town today."

Amethyst grunted, still attempting to get her stolen corn chips back.

"I don't, nng, know! But she should be back pretty soon!" With that statement, a brilliant white glow surrounded Amethyst's body and soon, Obsidian was wrestling with a purple toned copy of himself. "Gimme my chips back!"

Obsidian's eyes widened and a stifled snort muffled from his lips as Amethyst wrapped her arm around his neck. Bracing one hand against her chest and his knee against her hip, he managed to push himself away from her and jump up from the couch. The same white glow from before surrounded his body and soon revealed a rather shaggy looking grey cat.

"If you really wanted your chips, you'd taken them from me!" Obsidian snickered and turned tail, already aware that Amethyst was on his trail. He held the bag tightly between his jaws, paws carrying him in a steady paced run. A yowling growl behind him alerted him that Amethyst was close. Throwing his head up, he tossed the bag onto the countertop near Pearl before springing up himself. He quickly swept the bag up in his jaws once again and resumed running.

Amethyst, being the selectively determined Gem that she was, decided to follow him in a much more brash manner. The fluffy white feline lunged up into Pearl's lap then onto the countertop, causing the taller Gem to flail. She ignored the exasperated cry of her name with playful laughter. Sharp hues locked onto Obsidian. She flashed her teeth and leapt from her perch. Her claws extended as she managed to land right on the slimmer feline's back. "Gimme 'em! I gotcha!"

The sudden weight on his back caused both Gems to tumble forward. Obsidian groaned, though it was drowned out admist Steven's cheers and laughter. Dark eyes watched as Amethyst sat on his back with an air of triumph and self satisfaction. A smile graced his lips and both soon regained their humanoid forms. One hand propped his head up, the other's fingers tapping on the floor.

"You do realize I _let _you catch me, right?"

Amethyst waved a hand dismissively before she shoved a handful of corn chips into her mouth.

"Yeah yeah, suuuuuuure." She smirked. "You make a good couch, you know that?"

Obsidian rolled his eyes and raised up enough to send the purple Gem tumbling with laughter off his back. He brushed himself off and stood just in time to see the familiar light blue pillar of light materializing from the portal.

Steven hopped up excitedly. "Garnet's back!" He announced merrily. He jumped up and stepped over to greet Garnet. "Hey Garnet! How'd your mission go?"

Garnet regarded him from behind her shades then looked to each of the older Gems. "It went well." She held up a small tribal figurine, which Steven took gratefully.

"Aww thanks!" Steven poked at the small figurine, laughing when it began to dance in his palm. "Cool!" His eyes turned up to Garnet then he asked, "Now that you're back, can we go into town?"

She remained silent for a few moments before she finally nodded and offered the young Gem a smile. "Be sure to bring Lion as well."

At the mention of his name, Lion lifted his head and yawned loudly. He stretched out and grumbled then shook his mane out. He looked over to Steven and flopped for a moment to allow the boy onto his back. Once he was secure, Lion stood and lazily carried Steven outside.

The older Gems watched in silence until Steven was out of earshot. Pearl spoke up.

"Do we really have the time for prolonged outtings?" She made little attempt to hide the concern lacing her voice.

Garnet was already walking to the door when she responded, "This is a reconnaissance outting. We're going to see if anything is amiss in Beach City. If need be, we're going to get Steven to safety and handle whatever threats make themselves known."

Pearl's brows furrowed a bit with worry for the boy's safety and the safety of the city. Obsidian's arms crossed over his chest and he motioned for Pearl and Amethyst to follow Garnet before departing himself, demeanor having taken a drastic change from playful to serious. Amethyst's jovial mood from earlier had been replaced with a light veil of seriousness. A soft sigh fell from her lips. She hated when fun was used as a cover for more serious matters, but she didn't speak up. Instead she folded her hands behind her head and followed the other Gems outside.


	4. Chapter 4

"Oh! And after we leave there, we can go get our pictures taken on the pier in funny hats! What do you think of that guys?" Steven turned to face the older Gems and the smile on his face faltered. They all seemed lost in their own thoughts or tense about... Something. He waved a hand. "Guys?"

Pearl was the first to notice Steven's attempts to get their attention. She shook her head slightly and turned bright blue eyes in his direction. "Sorry. You were saying?" She couldn't shake the feeling that they were either being watched or being followed.

Steven's brows furrowed. "I was telling you all that we could go to the pier to get our pictures taken once we left the candy market."

Pearl kept her eyes on Steven but her attention had shifted elsewhere. Something wasn't right. "That sounds fine, Steven."

The young Gem frowned a bit and looked to Amethyst, who seemed antsier and a bit more agitated than usual. Normally the mention of candy and funny hats would draw a laugh from the short Gem, but right now, she was hardly paying attention. "Amethyst?"

Amethyst's eyes snapped forward and she straightened up. "Wha? What is it?"

Steven adjusted his position on Lion's back a little and met her gaze, which only stayed still for about five seconds at a time. "Are you guys okay? You're acting pretty weird."

The purple Gem waved a hand dismissively and gave a rather believable, "Yeah yeah, we're all fine. Don't worry, S."

This seemed to satisfy Steven, as he turned back to face forward. "Hey, we're here!" Lion stopped and crouched low enough for Steven to slide from his back before he was back on his paws. "Alright," he grabbed five bags and handed one to each of the older Gems, "all you gotta do is fill the bag with as much as you want and then weigh it. If you get the weight right, free candy!"

Obsidian looked down to the bag in his hand then towards Lion. He watched as the large feline paced back and forth, almost is if he himself were uneasy. The dark Gem's brows furrowed and black hues scanned the people wandering by as well as the vendors and pier performers. His lips twitched and he turned on heel, finally beginning to fill his bag with various gummy candies.

For Steven's sake, each of the older Gems filled their bags with varying degrees of candy, Garnet, unsurprisingly, having the smallest amount. They followed Steven to check out but were interrupted by a deep, hissing growl. Instinctively, the older Gems braced themselves. Garnet clenched her jaw, dropped her bag, and ran out onto the pier, the other Gems following her out. Steven, still clutching his bag, ran out after them.

"Oh wait." He ran back and tossed what he figured was the appropriate amount of money onto the counter then exited once more. Once outside, Steven's eyes opened wide at the sight of the older Gems and Lion skirting around what appeared to be a large hybrid shade creature amidst the terrified screams of Beach Citygoers. It was the size of a semi truck's trailer. Its head was mammalian and resembled a panther, its four legs resembled the feet of a large bird of prey, its tail was draconic and dark, sleek feathers sprouted out from the top of its head and ran along its neck, face and upper back like a mane of sorts. Its bright green slitted pupils darted to lock on the boy. It dug its claws into the wood and turned to lunge at Steven. Steven screamed and turned on heel, attempting to run for some kind of cover.

Garnet sneered and yelled to Amethyst and Lion. "Amethyst, go for the legs! Lion, get Steven out of here!"

Both Amethyst and Lion nodded, understanding what they were to do. Amethyst skidded to a halt and lashed her arm forward, allowing the momentum of her motions to send the gem studded cat tails of her whip locking around one of the creature's hind legs. She grunted and nearly flew forward, but Garnet managed to catch her and help her pull back. With a hearty tug, Garnet and Amethyst managed to trip the creature up.

Lion ignored the deafening hiss and jumped to stand defensively in front of Steven. The pink feline opened his maw and let a sonic roar escape. The shock waves sent the hybrid skidding then reeling back. Seeing this as an opportunity, Lion whipped around and picked Steven up by the back of his shirt. He darted away and tossed his head back, making sure Steven landed square on the center of his furry back. Get Steven to safety. That was Lion's priority. The large feline braced and then lunged to run along the rooftops of various establishments.

Obsidian braced himself as he watched the inky creature shake itself off and lift back onto its taloned feet. He stole a quick glance to each of the feminine Gems before tightening his grip on his scythes. He pushed off hard with one foot and dashed at the hybrid. He clenched his teeth and, once he was close enough, leapt up. The dark Gem swung an arm around and used the momentum to impale one of his blades into one of the creature's eyes. He grunted loudly and lodged his other scythe into the top of its head into order to keep it from bucking him off as it thrashed violently about. Only narrowly was he able to avoid wildly slashing talons. He waited for the opportune moment and pulled both his scythes back, allowing the hybrid to whip him high into the air. His eyes widened at the sight of razor sharp feathers flying towards him. He swung his arms about, managing to keep the feathers from hitting anything important, but a few managed to make contact. At the peak of his hang time, he took a moment to observe his fellow Gems.

Pearl lowered to dodge a wild swing of the draconic tail then responded immediately after with a graceful lunge forward. The bladed end of her spear slashed at the base of the creature's tail. Light blue hues darted quickly about. Her mind was on overdrive making pinpoint observations and calculations. Her strikes were quick and precise. As soon as the creature's tail crashed to the ground with a loud *BANG*, she dug her spear into the notch just above where its tail once was and propelled herself forward. Each time, she managed to land lightly enough to instantly push off once again. On her final jump, Pearl used her staff to throw her body into a flip. She sailed above the creature, eyes falling on its one remaining orb. Without hesitation, as soon as she saw her chance, she jabbed the bladed end of her spear into its other bright green eye. She twisted her body around and kicked the creature in the snout, enabling her to both tear her spear from its now useless eye socket and evade a hit from one of its taloned feet.

It couldn't see, but the Gems knew better than to let their guard down for such a reason. Amethyst glared at the giant hybrid. She threw her arm forward, gem studded cat tails tearing at what ever they came into contact with. Her strikes were outstandingly accurate. One strike to its ears. Then its nose. Then its other ear. Its nose again. She gave it little time to react. A renewed, pained roar filled the air following the sound of air parting and the mystical zipping noise of her whip. She took one moment to look to Obsidian. She drew her arm back just in time for the darker Gem to impale both his spears into the back of its neck. She screamed to her fellow warrior to quickly move. Obsidian obliged and tore away.

Garnet ran at the hybrid, hands both drawn into fist. Even with the flesh torn around its ears and muzzle, the creature was still able to effectively track Garnet's movements. It attempted to swipe and claw at her. It was fast, but Garnet was even faster. She evaded each and every attack until she was close enough to it. She drew one of her gauntlet clad fists back then shot it forward, striking the creature in its throat. She ignore the hacking hiss it spewed and repeated the action. Again and again. She punched it backwards and immediately followed it, jumping up and slamming both her fists into the top of its head. Amethyst, Pearl and Obsidian braced themselves against the resulting shock wave. Garnet panted slightly and jumped back from the crater that the large creature had left. It wasn't moving. The other three Gems stepped forward. Their weapons were all coated in what appeared to be an inky substance as black as the being it came from.

Amethyst looked it over and spoke up. "It is dead?" She asked?

Obsidian was about to speak up, but was stopped as he watched the creature's skin beginning to sizzle and bubble. He, Amethyst and Pearl all showed visible signs of interest as the hybrid began to dissipate into the atmosphere. Garnet remained silent, even after the creature was gone. Instead of questioning it, she turned her head to the sound of a soft padding. Lion had returned with Steven in tow.

The young Gem was visibly shaken, but otherwise alright. He looked between the four older gems and asked, "What was that thing?"

Garnet looked back to the large hole it left. "A shadenza."

Steven's brow furrowed. He was about to ask what that was but stopped when he spotted a trio at the very end of the boardwalk. Unlike most of Beach City's other residents, they weren't cowering or attempting to hide. In fact, they didn't even appear to be human. Unsure of who they were, Steven alerted the older Gems to their presence. His eyes widened. As soon as he pointed them out, Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst and Obsidian were rushing towards them.

The tallest of the three, a large, muscular man with dark green skin and blazing crimson hues, simply smiled. The jagged toothed grin along with just his presence was enough to unnerve most men. He seemed to be twitching slightly. On each of his bulging forearms was a jasper shaded gemstone, both of which had red splattered across them. The shortest, a fairly skinny woman with golden toned skin and an eye patch over her right eye, tilted her head slightly to the side. Her fiery curls bounced. Her gem hid behind the eye patch. The final member of the trio stood calmly and adjusted his glasses. He was a skinny man with a light blue skin tone. A deep azure gemstone graced his forehead. The sight of the quartet running towards them hardly seemed like it bothered the man and his associates.

Amethyst yelled and threw her arm forward, sending the tails of her whip flying at the trio. She didn't care who she hit. Her visible eye widened and soon she found herself flying forward. Her whip disappeared just before her face came into contact with the large man's fist. He laughed heartily as he sent the purple Gem flying back towards her friends.

"Amethyst!" Obsidian skidded to a stop and desummoned his weapons before opening his arms. He grunted loudly and rolled backwards, using his body as best he could to protect her once he caught her. Once they came to a stop, Obsidian sat up to assess Amethyst. Both her nose and mouth were bleeding. "Son of a, are you alright?"

The short Gem spat at her side and wiped at her nose, grumbling as both she and Obsidian helped each other into a stand. "I'm fine. It's gonna take a lot more than a punch to the face to stop me." She glared in the direction of the trio, whom Garnet and Pearl were closer to. She didn't blame them for continuing forward. Hell, it's what she would have done. She spat again and turned her attention to the taller man. "Thanks, by the way."

The darker Gem responded with a swift nod and soon, both were running to catch up to Garnet and Pearl.

Garnet's jaw tightened the closer she got to the trio. Her gauntlets were already covering her hands. She was closer than Pearl was. She drew one of her fists back and lobbed her hand forward. Forward to hit...

Nothing.

In a flash, the odd trio disappeared into thin air. Garnet skidded to a stop, the other three close behind. Her gauntlets vanished as did Pearl's spear. Though her voice was calm, it was obvious that Garnet was incredibly frustrated.

"They got away. It's starting. They're going to be testing us."

Amethyst growled, angry at herself for getting hit. Angry at the trio for running. She was just angry. She cursed and looked up to Garnet asking, "What do we do?"

Garnet looked down to her then back to Steven, replying, "We explain everything to Steven, then we start planning how we're going to stay ahead of those three."

Pearl, Obsidian and Amethyst all exchanged somewhat worried and concerned glances before turning their attention to Steven as well.

* * *

Having left the pier and returned to Steven's room, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Obsidian, Steven and Lion were all seated around a small lunch consisting of a few sandwiches. It was more for Steven than any of the older Gems. Steven looked between each of them before he spoke.

"Just who were those guys? And what was with that thing that you guys fought earlier."

Pearl was the first to speak. "The creature that we fought earlier was known as a 'shadenza'. They technically aren't living and are more like 'inky puppets', if you will, of those controlling them," she noticed his expression and continued, "As for who those people were. The large man you saw is known as Bloodstone. He's a vicious Gem whose lust for violence is virtually unparalleled. He attacks with a giant mace. The woman is known as Amber. Behind that eyepatch lies her gem. Unlike most gems who only have one set weapon or a mild variation, Amber summons an odd liquid resin that she can will to form what ever weapon she pleases, be it a shield or a sword or what have you." Her brow furrowed a bit. "The second man you saw is known as Topaz. He may not seem like much, but he's cold and calculating. Incredibly merciless. Unlike Bloodstone, Topaz is more prone to mentally manipulate people into doing what he pleases. Rarely is he seen fighting, but when he does, his weapon is what is known by humans as a Bat'leth." Upon mention of the word, she projected a holographic image of the odd sword from the pearl on her forehead. Once she was sure Steven had a good enough look, the image disappeared.

Steven took a moment to process what Pearl had told him. After a while, he met her gaze then looked to Obsidian and back. "And they're all dangerous right?" Pearl responded with a nod. Steven went on to ask, "Why? And I also wanna know about Obsidian. How did you guys and my mom meet him?"

Obsidian leaned back against the couch cushions and sighed. "It's a long story little man," he looked to each of the female Gems then to Steven, expression growing more serious, "so pay attention."


End file.
